As a retired WVDNR fishery biologist who has worked, kayaked, and fished the entire Cheat River and most of its tributaries for over 50 years, the storyline of Sen. Joe Manchin’s recent op-ed in the Sunday News-Register on Feb. 19th rang true to my experience.
The senator accurately describes the timeline of the West Virginia I know: once the proud furnace of the American economy, then forgotten and left to clean up the job site after the nation’s energy mix moved on.
I am no stranger to that. The Cheat River was once a “dead” river due to extreme acid mine drainage, and since the 1970s local West Virginians have banded together to remediate those issues and bring the river back to life and with it, new economic hopes for the region.
We are on the verge of completing that project with a final step to restore the river’s connectivity by removing the defunct Albright Power Station’s dam so that tourists, walleye, and bass can navigate the area freely, bringing new economic opportunities to all in the region.
Frank Jernejcic
Vice President
Upper Mon River Association
Morgantown